People who bought this also bought...

Jesus for the Non-Religious

Writing from his prison cell in Nazi Germany in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young German theologian, sketched a vision of what he called "Religionless Christianity". In this book, John Shelby Spong puts flesh onto the bare bones of Bonhoeffer's radical thought. The result is a strikingly new and different portrait of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jesus for the non-religious.

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith

World-renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J. Borg shows how we can live passionately as Christians in today's world by practicing the vital elements of Christian faith. For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices.

Jesus: The Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary

Come to know Jesus as you have never known him before: as a revolutionary prophet with an exciting new moral vision. Top biblical scholar Marcus J. Borg, after a lifetime of work and study, presents a historically accurate Jesus unlike any we have previously seen. This Christ is a charismatic sage and healer who courageously and surprisingly confronts the societal crises of his day, a man living in the power of the spirit and dedicated to radical social change.

What We Talk About When We Talk About God: Faith for the 21st Century

Rob Bell's bestseller Love Wins tackled subjects church leaders have been afraid to touch. Now he asks the biggest question faced by any Christian: How do we know God? Although 2000 years of Christendom has seen huge changes in our broader understanding of our place in the world, belief remains rooted in archaism and tradition.

New Seeds of Contemplation

New Seeds of Comtemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widely read and best loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, the Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics, while others have compared Merton's reflections to those of Thoreau.

Thomas Merton on Contemplation

You are invited to sit at the feet of a contemplative master. After a radical conversion experience, Thomas Merton became a Trappist monk in the Abbey of Gethsemani. At the heart of Merton's transformative conversion was contemplation. Now, this series invites you into that profound contemplative experience in six remastered conferences delivered by Merton. As you listen to Merton in his own voice, you will encounter his most profound teachings on prayer and contemplation.

D. M. Jenkins says:"The best I've heard from Merton."

Audible Editor Reviews

For many disciples, eternal life is the great dangling carrot that's finally handed over to hungry believers at the end of a life well spent serving and living according to selected spiritual principles.

However, in Eternal Life: A New Vision, Bishop John Shelby Spong, a controversial figure in some closed circles, proposes a new idea of what eternal life actually means. According to Spong, eternal life goes, "beyond religion, beyond theism, beyond heaven and hell."

In other words, Spong doesn't imagine eternal life will be spent lounging on puffy clouds and spending pain-free days and nights worshiping and feeling great from the moment we die until forever...and ever....and ever. Whew.

Narrated with non-judgmental clarity by John Morgan.

Publisher's Summary

Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of Jesus for the Non-Religious, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Sins of Scripture, and many other books, is known for his controversial ideas and fighting for minority rights.

In Eternal Life: A New Vision, a remarkable spiritual journey about his lifelong struggle with the questions of God and death, he reveals how he came to a new conviction about eternal life. God, says Spong, is ultimately one, and each of us is part of that oneness. We do not live on after death as children who have been rewarded with heaven or punished with hell but as part of the life and being of God, sharing in God's eternity, which is beyond the barriers of time and space. spong argues that the discovery of the eternal can be found within each of us if we go deeply into ourselves, transcend our limits and become fully human.

By seeking God within, by living each day to its fullest, we will come to understand how we live eternally.Always compelling and controversial, Spong, the leading Christian liberal and pioneer for human rights, wrestles with the question that all of us will ultimately face. In his final book, Spong takes us beyond religion and even beyond Christianity until he arrives at the affirmation that the fully realized human life empties into and participates in the eternity of God. The pathway into God turns out to be both a pathway into ourselves and a doorway into eternal life. To Job's question "If a man (or a woman) dies, will he (or she) live again?" he gives his answer as a ringing yes!

J.S. Spong, a scholar who has held the seemingly contradictory titles of "Episcopal Bishop" and "Humanist of the Year", presents his final work: an examination of whether or not a modern, skeptical understanding of evolution, anthropology, and religion can permit a concept of eternal life after death.

This is an excellent, timely and probing question. Unfortunately, the answer offered is less than satisfying, and is certainly not the "resounding yes" promised in the first chapter.

Spong provides many autobiographical anecdotes as he relates how his own thought process led him to the conclusions drawn in this book. This is helpful, as his opinions are often quite caustic, and being able to see these opinions in the perspective of Spong's own personal experiences renders them at least understandable, if not agreed upon.

Spong identifies religion as the necessary crutch devised by humanity in order to cope with the separation anxiety caused by the evolutionary development of self-consciousness. He dismisses religion as "outdated", "spiritually immature", and "out of touch with modern scientific understanding". He calls for humanity to transcend our religious heritage and enter into new ways of thinking.

He concludes that the meaning of eternal life consists of living meaningfully in the here and now. He identifies God as "not supernatural, but in fact part of us", and argues that this is actually what the Gospel of John was trying to communicate. The path to eternal life: Live fully and love fully, because love is eternal.

Disappointingly, the conclusion stops short of discussing whether and how the individual consciousness is preserved beyond death. Also, Spong fails to subject his belief in Love and in God-as-part-of-us to the same "skeptical scientific scrutiny" used to tear apart traditional religious ideology.

11 of 14 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

08/06/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Eternal Life Is Right-On!"

This is a great read. John Shelby Spong is spot on with his views and revelations. This book is so enlightening and supports many of the views that I have come to support and believe as s result of my own spiritual evolution. I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fahel

Houston, Texas

08/07/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fuzzy conclusion"

What did you like about this audiobook?

I really liked the first Spong book that I read, "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism". Each chronologically subsequent book got a bit less precise culminating in this one. What exactly does eternal life mean? He doesn't explain it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Jaime Cammacho

Conroe, Texas, United States

02/12/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fantastic Book! Spong knocks it out of the park."

Where does Eternal Life rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Eternal Life?

The arguments are amazing.

Have you listened to any of John Morgan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

N/A

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did listen all at one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I've already listened to it again.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sheldon

San Diego, CA, United States

27/01/11

Overall

"Eternal Life"

Excellent, though very challenging work. It left me with a lot to think about. I am now yet sure how I will respond to it. I will probably reread it in a month or so.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Curt Curtis

12/05/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Disappointed"

I liked the Start but it tailed off toward the end. The epilogue saved it.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.